Food Styling & Photography | The Artful Gourmet :: Food Stylist | Photographer | Blogger

June 25, 2012September 26, 2020

Crazy Good Lobster Rolls & a July 4 Feast

#Summer is the time of year where all I want to do is flee to the ocean, bask in some sunshine and eat some really good seafood. With July 4th approaching us, my photographer friend and partner Maike Paul decided we wanted to do a test shoot together and make some crazy good Lobster Rolls and a July 4th Feast.

We picked up a fresh lobster at a local seafood market in Brooklyn (who we named Lobster Louie) and he accompanied us as we walked around Williamsburg searching for a big steam pot and some fresh ingredients and props to make our succulent Lobster Rolls. We picked up some fresh corn on the cob, scallions, chives, celery, and lemons, some crunchy Kettle chips, Corona and limes, heirloom tomatoes and lettuce to make a salad to accompany our feast.

Lobster Rolls are fairly easy to make – and if you’re squeamish like I am, you might want to get a helper to cook the lobster in the steam pot (we recruited Maike’s boyfriend). One tip I recommend is to put the whole lobster in the freezer for about 15 minutes before boiling it as it makes the lobster “sleepy” – it’s a more humane way to cook a live lobster and you’ll feel less guilty, I promise. You can also use frozen lobster if you just don’t want to deal with the complication and doom all together!

We brushed some light butter on the hot dog buns and put them in a grill pan for a few minutes to make them toasty and browned. New England-style buns are the best, but if you can’t find them, regular top-split buns are fine.

To make the corn on the cob, boil it first for about 10 minutes to soften it and then brush the corn with some butter and throw them in a grill pan or a charcoal grill to get some nice grill marks and then top it off with some sea salt and Old Bay Seasoning or paprika for some extra savory flavor. Make a fresh green salad with heirloom tomatoes and a light lemon vinaigrette to accompany along with some crunchy BBQ Kettle Chips and a cold, refreshing Corona with lime. Now that’s a July 4 feast to remember! Enjoy.

Crazy Good Lobster Rolls & a July 4 Feast

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 6

Ingredients

3/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup fresh chives, thinly sliced (plus more for garnish)
1/4 cup fresh green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 lb. (4 cups) cooked lobster meat
6 hot dog rolls, New England-style or split-top rolls
4-6 fresh corn on the cob, husked
butter, for basting corn and hot dog rolls
4-6 small heirloom tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 head green leaf lettuce
2-3 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette dressing, for salad
2-3 limes, for Corona

Instructions

Bring a large steam pot full of water to a rolling boil and prep all fresh ingredients. Boil lobster for about 10-12 minutes and let cool for another 10 minutes.
Remove the lobster claws and the tail and split open the shell to remove fresh cooked lobster, and cut up the lobster meat into large chunks and remove residue by rinsing under cold water.
In a large bowl, add the lobster meat and stir in celery, mayonnaise, water, chives, green onions, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper, Old Bay seasoning or paprika. Season to taste with more lemon, paprika, salt, and pepper if desired. Garnish with additional chopped chives.
Boil the corn on the cob for about 10 minutes until soft. Brush with butter and grill in a grill pan for about 5 more minutes until grill marks appear. Sprinkle with sea salt and Old Bay seasoning or paprika.
Brush the hot dog rolls lightly with butter, and grill in a grill pan over medium-high until they get browned and toasty. Serve the lobster salad in toasted buns with the corn on the cob and a fresh green salad with heirloom tomatoes and a light lemon vinaigrette dressing and fresh ground black pepper.
Serve with a bowl of crunchy BBQ Kettle chips and a Corona with lime or crisp Sauvignon Blanc white wine.

Notes

If using a whole live lobster, put in the freezer for 15 minutes before boiling - this is a more humane way of cooking the lobster. You can also use frozen lobster tails if you desire equalling 4 cups to make this recipe. An alternative to the mayo-based lobster salad is to toss the fresh cooked lobster in some butter with fresh tarragon and salt and pepper (Connecticut-style)!

https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2012/06/crazy-good-lobster-rolls-a-july-4-feast/

Watch the video from Fine Cooking on how to humanely cook a live lobster

Food Network Lobster Rolls by Sarah’s Secrets

Amateur Gourmet’s Lobster Rolls

Ellie Krieger’s Lobster Rolls

Connecticut-Style Lobster Rolls by Serious Eats

Lobsters with Laura Lobster Rolls

June 19, 2012June 19, 2012

Food Styling & Photography Workshop w/ Bea Peltre @ Haven’s Kitchen NYC

I recently attended an amazing food styling and photography workshop with Beatrice Peltre, of La Tartine Gourmande at Haven’s Kitchen in NYC. Bea is an amazing Chef, food stylist and photographer and author of the cookbook La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life and one of my favorite food bloggers on the planet! If you don’t know Bea, she is very talented and creative – not only in her cooking and recipes but in her unique, fresh, colorful food styling and photography that has given her fame in the food community.

The workshop was at Haven’s Kitchen, a great cooking school and event space in Chelsea, NYC. If you haven’t visited this place you must next time you visit New York! The front area is stocked full of gourmet food items, cooking tools and utensils, kitchenware, and housewares; and they also serve coffee and tea, wine and great gourmet snacks. They offer small group cooking classes in their great location too, which you can check out online. The kitchen was set up with all of the fresh, beautiful food that we cooked and prepared together with Bea before we went upstairs to the private event space to prop, style and shoot the gourmet dishes we prepared.

After the shoot, we all sat down for a healthy gorgeous lunch of smoked salmon, veggie and dill cream tartines, fresh fruit and salads, cheese, gourmet pizzas and more. We laughed and ate, and had great conversation among the group and learned valuable lessons in the art of cooking, food styling and photography with Bea.

Check out my photos from the workshop and event below (there’s a slideshow on Flickr and a mini-gallery below for viewing pleasure). And if you have the opportunity to ever take a class from Bea or Haven’s Kitchen, I highly recommend! Enjoy.

VIEW THE SLIDESHOW

Food Styling & Photography Workshop w/ Bea Peltre

May 13, 2012September 21, 2018

Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Lemon Butter Sauce

The temperatures are rising and the sun is shining which means one thing – Spring is finally here. For me, that means lighter flavors, fresh herbs, fruits and veggies from the farmers market, and seafood, seafood, seafood.

I decided to make a lovely Shrimp Scampi Pasta in Lemon Butter Sauce that is fresh, light and fairly simple to make (not to mention absolutely scrumptious!)

I found some fresh, succulent jumbo shrimp and sautéed them in butter and olive oil with garlic, making a bright, velvety lemon butter sauce by adding lemon juice, lemon zest, and some white wine. I added a little extra butter into the sauce, threw in a few scallions and fresh garlic, and topped it off with some fresh parsley and a pinch of cayenne and red pepper flakes to give it some extra flavor and kick. If you want to make the sauteed shrimp and skip the pasta for a lighter dish, go for it – it’s totally amazing on it’s own or with a salad and some crusty bread (and a glass of white wine to accompany, of course!) Enjoy.

Yum

Shrimp Scampi Pasta in Lemon Butter Sauce

Yield: 4

This is a perfect dish for Summer, featuring sauteed shrimp in a lemon butter sauce, served over fettucine with fresh parsley and garlic.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons for sauce
3/4 pound fettucine (or linguine, angel hair, spaghetti)
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound jumbo shrimp (about 12 jumbo or 16 large shrimp), peeled and deveined, tails intact
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 large scallions, sliced
1/2 lemon, zest grated for sauce plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
pinch of cayenne
Garnish: parsley, lemon zest, red pepper, salt and pepper

Instructions

Drizzle the vegetable oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
Prep all ingredients (chop garlic, parsley, green onions, zest and halve the lemons and squeeze juice, measure out oil, lemon juice, wine, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes).
Melt butter and olive oil in another large pan over medium-low heat and add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.
Add the shrimp, salt, and pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add parsley, lemon zest, wine, lemon juice, lemon slices, scallions and red pepper flakes; cook for 1-2 additional minutes. Stir and remove from heat.
When the pasta is done, drain the cooked pasta and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve with additional chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste, cayenne and red pepper flakes, if desired. Serve with a glass of white wine (Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc) and a green salad or crusty bread.

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https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2012/05/shrimp-scampi-pasta/